Jim Mashek

UNBEATEN GLASGOW NEEDS TWO OVERTIMES TO TOPPLE FRANKLIN-SIMPSON, 27-24; WARREN CENTRAL FALLS TO MADISONVILLE-NORTH HOPKINS, FINISHES SEASON AT 3-7 OVERALL

South Warren High School’s head football coach, Brandon Smith, may have been an architect in another life.

The Spartans are in their first season in the KHSAA’s top classification, Class 6A, but they’re playing as if it’s old hat on Nashville Road.

Smith is building a top-flight 6A program, and the Spartans have put the rest of the Commonwealth on notice.

South Warren has been paired with Logan County in the final regular-season game for five years running now, and the game usually has been competitive — at least for the first half.

In fact, the Cougars strolled into South Warren’s stadium and knocked off the Spartans, 27-17, during Logan County’s 10-win season in 2022.

Todd Adler’s LCHS squad may again post double-digit victories, with the KHSAA Class 4A playoffs flashing in the distance, and the Cougars ran into a buzzsaw this time.

South Warren 49, Logan County 14.

“They’re big, and they’re physical,” Adler said before boarding one of the team buses for the short trip back to Russellville. “Their third-team offensive line was bigger than our guys on defense … We just weren’t ready to play.”

The Spartans were on point, from jump street.

Brandon Smith was happy about the Spartans’ 10-0 regular season, with all the games being decided by double digits. By the same token, he’s ready to turn the page to the KHSAA Class 6A tournament, and a first-round matchup against Christian County (1-8 overall). Logan County (8-2 overall) will play host to Marion County in next week’s postseason opener, but the Cougars likely would have to go on the road for Round Two.

“We’ve seen some kids emerge as leaders and they’ve done a good job,” Smith said. “We’ve gained a lot of experience in this regular season, and it’s been fun for the kids and our fans, but the real thing is here, when we start the playoffs.”

One of the keys to the Spartans’ success has been Smith’s balancing act with two talented quarterbacks, both underclassmen. Camden Page, the football/baseball star in his first season as the Spartans’ starting QB, is dangerous when he breaks the pocket, and he has a special chemistry with senior South Warren wideout Jake Carter.

Page and Bell have plenty of other potential targets, too, but Carter is one of the team’s leaders, and he’s been known to contribute on defense from time to time, too.

“I thought the game went good,” Carter said via text message on Thursday night. “We executed, like we did in practice, but to be honest, the regular season doesn’t mean anything now.

“It’s time to take it to another level.”

That’s what Camden Page and Chase Bell have in mind, too, and they have worked as a tandem at quarterback for months now.

The Spartans did the bulk of their damage on the ground Thursday night, led by dynamo tailback Kayden York, but Page and Bell can move the chains themselves. And opposing defenses are often left in the dust.

“They’ve done a great job,” South Warren coach Brandon Smith said. “Cam’s the starter, and he’s our guy … We always say if you’re good enough to play, we’re going to find a spot for you. Chase Bell is obviously good enough to play … Cam’s the runner, usually, but Chase showed us something there tonight, too.”

Page accounted for two touchdowns, one on the ground and another through the air. After York broke a couple tackles, near the line of scrimmage, on a 28-yard touchdown run about four minutes into the game, Page found Justin Capps on a 14-yard TD run with 2:13 left in the first quarter. Senior SWHS placekicker Alen Alic added the second of his seven successful PATs, and the Spartans were off to the races.

Jamir Boards, the Spartans’ rough-and-tumble junior tailback, broke outside on a simple dive play and scored on a 41-yard touchdown run in the opening moments of the second quarter, extending South’s lead to 21-0. Logan County showed some of the big-play potential that’s become its trademark in 2025, with sophomore quarterback Luke Rogers finding senior LCHS wideout Domani Goodloe on the right sideline, before Goodloe broke a tackle or two on his way to an 80-yard touchdown reception.

Logan County’s Caiden Kirby drilled the extra point through the uprights, and suddenly the Cougars seemed to have life, trailing 21-7.

“We showed a little bit of fight there, and again in the second half,” LCHS coach Todd Adler said.

Once again, though, the South Warren offensive machine was just getting started.

South’s Kayden York powered his way to a 20-yard touchdown run in the final minute of the first half, driving his way through a Logan County defender at the goal line. It was 28-7, at the break, and the Spartans needed two more touchdowns, and subsequent extra points, for the KHSAA’s running-clock mandate to be put into motion.

That happened in the opening moments of the second half.

South junior QB Camden Page, a sturdy runner when he breaks the pocket, scored on an 8-yard touchdown run to extend the margin to 28 points, and SWHS teammate Jamir Boards added a 10-yard TD run, on a sweep to the right side, to put the game on ice.

Logan County still wasn’t finished, however, asjunior running back Christian Helle took a handoff from Cougars QB Luke Rogers before hitting the left sideline in a flash.

Helle scored on a 70-yard run, his team-leading 19th touchdown of the season, but the Cougars’ defense simply couldn’t match up with Malik Butler and South Warren’s big, physical offensive line.

“They might be the best team in the state,” Adler said. “One of our kids, Isaac Christian — a really good receiver — didn’t play after the death of his grandfather. We also decided to hold out (sophomore star running back/receiver) Tyson (Thomeczek), with a lingering injury, to get ready for the playoffs.

“We just weren’t ready to play. And a lot of that is on me. We’ll be ready to get back to work next week for Marion County.”

Kayden York, South Warren’s Little Engine That Could, carried the ball nine times for 85 yards and two touchdowns. He also had three receptions for 21 yards, and he was quick to acknowledge the work of his teammates on the offensive line.

“I’d been pumped for this game, since lunch today,” York said in the corner of the stadium, shortly before the lights were dimmed. “When I heard about some college scouts, being here tonight, that was kind of cool, too.”

Meanwhile, at Franklin-Simpson High School, the Glasgow Scotties completed an unbeaten regular-season with a tense, 27-24 victory over the Wildcats in double overtime. Senior Glasgow QB Hudson Gumm had a big night, completing 14 of 17 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns. He was not intercepted.

Glasgow’s Jaylen Bradley finished with seven catches for 123 yards and three touchdowns, and the Scotties (10-0 overall) will open the KHSAA Class 3A playoffs at home next week against Webster County.

Franklin-Simpson, which dropped to 6-4 overall, is on the road next week in the KHSAA Class 4A playoffs, when the Wildcats will tangle with John Hardin High School in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

Jeremy Harness, Warren Central’s second-year head coach, saw his team’s season come to an end at Joe Hood Field on Thursday night. The Madisonville-North Hopkins Maroons trampled the Dragons, 52-12, closing the door on Warren Central’s 3-7 season.

The bulk of KHSAA football games will be played on Halloween Night. Thanks for reading jimmashek.com